On June 24, 2021, Women & Hi Tech was excited to host our summer Executive Women’s Forum: Let’s Talk About Your Cyber Hygiene. This important discussion informed attendees about secure online behaviors and how critical cybersecurity is in today’s technology age. According to recent reports, cybercrime has increased every year as people try to benefit from vulnerable business and personal systems. Often, attackers are looking for ransom: 53% of cyber attacks resulted in damages of $500,000 or more.
Linda Calvin, director of the Executive Women’s Forum and Ben Phillips, Treasurer, kicked off the event as moderators for the discussion. “This forum gave us the opportunity to provide our members and the community with best-in-class thought leadership on the evolving personal and enterprise cybersecurity risk landscapes,” said Phillips. “We are extremely grateful for the outstanding attendance and the content provided by our panelists.
The panelists were Meredith Harper, VP and Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) at Eli Lilly, Chetrice Mosely-Romero, Cybersecurity Program Director at Indiana Office of Technology & Indiana Department of Homeland Security, and Nicole Sigler, Senior Security Consultant at Pondurance. These women shared their wise words on major recent cybersecurity events, the implications of poor security, and how we can improve our cybersecurity report card.
Takeaways from the event
The forum covered cyber security from both corporate and personal angles. Panelists discussed topics for corporate security such as the recent attack on SolarWinds and how it affected federal and local governments, as well as how to integrate cybersecurity training effectively in a corporation. The conversation then shifted to tips on personal cyber security, such as changing your passwords every few months and segmenting routers in your home when bringing in technology such as Alexa or the Ring doorbell.
“A lot of what we’re dealing with in cybersecurity is human behavior. A computer doesn't click on a malicious link--a human does. We need to make sure people are educated and aware of attacks so they can combat them at the point of attack,” said Harper.
Mosley-Romero commented, “We, the protectors, have to be creative and emulative to understand the different forms of communication and training. We also have to be creative about understanding the bad actors and how they are getting into complex systems. Cyber security is not all ones and zeros. It’s a critical thinking skill, a creative skill, and a psychological skill.”
With everything there is a risk, but much like driving, we have to consider the rules of the road and protect ourselves. With good cyber hygiene, we can arm ourselves against the malware and bad actors that are attacking our corporate entities and personal homes.
“Something we always say, as consultants and auditors is, I believe you, I trust you, but I just need to verify. We need to use this methodology in our daily life and in our companies. We all need to double check things,” said Sigler. “It's just like any other organization where you have checks and balances. In cyber security, you need to double check your security measures so nothing happens to cause havoc.”
Listen and learn about cyber hygiene
Women & Hi Tech encourages all who missed the live virtual event to view the recorded session of our Executive Women's Forum: Let’s Talk About Your Cyber Hygiene and visit owomenandhitech.org/events to attend our next events!
